Delaware North and its operations at the Grand Canyon have formed a partnership with a local non-profit inside the South Rim of the canyon to provide donated items to keep a community food bank thriving.

The partnership involves collecting and providing packaged grocery items nearing their “best used by” date and donating them to the recently acquired food pantry in a National Park Service-run building.

The food pantry is open three days a week with an objective of reducing the amount of food that is normally thrown out while supplementing people’s meals with additional food at no cost.

“What makes this food pantry different from other food banks is that residents can shop for what they need as if it was a store,” said Mike Scott, a Grand Canyon Food Bank volunteer.

Amy McMurry, an inventory control manager at Delaware North, said she sees a big need in the community for the food pantry.

“You’ve got families with small kids, and there are seasonal employees who don’t have a place to cook,” McMurry said. “Then there’s the financial burden of it and trying to work that out here at the canyon, especially with it being so transitory, and people are new to that aspect.”

This partnership aligns directly with Delaware North’s proprietary stewardship program, GreenPath.

“A big part of this is let’s do this in a way that’s sustainable,” Scott said. “The more buyin we get from the community, the better off it’s going to be.”

With Delaware North’s new partnership, the Grand Canyon operation is able to reduce the amount of waste, while also giving back to the local community.